HAUGHTON-LE-SKERNE is a village to the east of Darlington. Until the 1930s, it was in County Durham but then it moved into the Borough of Darlington.

Today it joins almost seamlessly into the town, as garages and DIY shops have filled in the vacant land inbetween, but it retains its own identity with its own church – reputedly the oldest building in Darlington – and its wide, tree-lined main street.

Haughtonians are proud of their village, as shown by their lovely collection of Memories which has just been published by Carol Atkinson, of the Haughton local history society. Since Carol and Pam Walker founded the society in 2003, they have persuading its members to write down their stories, and now they have made it into print.

Haughton-le-Skerne Memories is available for £9.99 only from Carol on 01325-351546 or by emailing datkinson1689@aol.com. Some of the pictures, and memories, from the book appear in today's From the Archive.

Jean Robson: "I remember well the day I first went to school: it was January 17, 1927. The day you were five, your mother took you in with your birth certificate.

"I had sixpence for the bank and I put it on the teacher's desk. She lifted the lid and my sixpence rolled away. A boy called John Greville picked it up and said you can come and sit with me. We sat together until we were seven and then we both caught diphtheria, and sadly John died."

Carol Atkinson: "I was born in January 1954 and during my childhood, the Post Office at 45 The Green was run by the Thompson family. I loved to spend my pocket money buying sweets from the penny tray. Without fail, as I was about to leave home with a penny or two in my hand, my mam would quote the same parting words: 'Don't buy any ket' (meaning rubbish). To mam, sherbert was ket. To me, everything on the tray was exciting, and all at the cost of just a penny. There were black jacks, fruit salads, candy cigarettes, cinder toffee and, my favourite, the pieces of Spanish (liquorice) that came in different shapes and sizes."

Last week, Memories was delighted to be able to use the Haughton verb "to sose", which meant "to collapse through total inebriation". "Ket" is another delightful local word which usually means "candy" or "sweets" – it is said to derive from a Scandinavian word which meant "sweet meats".

Ann Blyth: "In the closing months of the Second World War, I remember American planes flying over the fields opposite Stockton Road. They dropped chewing gum and rolls of silver paper and occasionally silk stockings. My friend and I were about five, and would squeeze through the fence excitedly in search of the loot. The silver paper was in large reels, a bit like sellotape, and we made streamers and folded it into concertina shaped hanging decorations."

BLOB For more on the village’s history and the society’s activities, go to its brand new website at www.haughton-le-skernelocalhistorysociety.org.uk